ChatGPT fixed my PC, unimpressed by Apple’s HomeView, Gemini can save you money

Plus, my latest preview video, how to enable Siri AI, generative AI art from 1996, dopamine websites, Neanderthal woodworking, and a funny dog video

Oct 19, 2026

I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.

Advanced Geekery is published weekly on Substack and LinkedIn. Same content. Choose your favorite delivery method. Back Issues.

My latest preview video

If you’ve been following my ZDNET articles, you know I’ve been working on a filament management tool called My Filament Stash. Here’s a look at how NFC tags work in the upcoming release of the product. It’s being built for the Apple ecosystem and will run on iPhone, iPad, Watch, and Mac.

My articles

Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.

How I used ChatGPT to talk me through fixing a corrupted gaming PC – literally: ChatGPT helped me investigate RAM failures, BIOS settings, and Windows corruption - and it changed how I think about modern AI tech support.

I thought I had the new Siri AI in iOS 27 - until I found it hidden in my settings: Have iOS 27 and think you're using Siri AI? You might not be. Here's how to check, unlock access, and discover what Apple's upgraded assistant can actually do differently.

Use ChatGPT Plus? Switching to Gemini could cut your bill - by $144 a year for me: Paying for ChatGPT, Google storage, and YouTube Premium? Your subscriptions might overlap more than you think.

Apple’s HomeView won’t replace my Echoes anytime soon: 6 reasons why: I wanted Apple’s HomeView to replace every Amazon Echo in my house. But we're not there yet.

Must-watch YouTube

Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.

CNBC explains why retailers (including dollar stores) are shrinking their assortments (and it’s not about Amazon).
Think generative AI image generation is new? This BBC piece shows an AI that did generative AI art way back in 1996.
Read the narration overlayed on this dog video. The theme? “Have you met your dog?” It’s a Facebook video, but you still gotta give it a view. It gave me a chuckle.

Gear of the week

It’s been a while since I’ve built my own hard drive arrays. I’m running a bunch of NAS devices here instead. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a 12-bay hard drive tower.

If you want a ton of storage directly connected to your computer, this hot swappable storage bay may be the way to go. As with many things I find on Amazon, I don’t need it but now I want it. What about you? Let us know in the comments below.

Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Interesting reads

And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth checking out.

Oh, now this is odd. These are “dopamine websites.” What’s that? They’re fake websites that emulate real-world sites (like shopping sites where you shop, but not really).
Two separate articles talk about Neanderthal woodworking skills.
ZDNET’s Charlie Osborne shows how to fix Wi-Fi dead zones using your home’s electrical wiring. No drilling required.

Reader projects

This is incredibly cool, and in our hyper-digital world, incredibly refreshing. Zack Friedman (not to be confused with the Gridfinity Zack Freedman) designed and built a completely analog way for a picture frame to automatically change its picture. If you want to see full effect in action, watch this video.

Zack told me, “I built Double Take Frames, a screen-free, 3D-printed picture frame that can wait hours, days, or weeks before one physical photo disappears and reveals another. An ordinary quartz clock slowly winds a thread; at the chosen time, the thread pulls a zipper, releases a latch, and a 25-gram falling weight draws the cover image down. I designed the frame and mechanism in OpenSCAD and published the printable files and illustrated build instructions, which you can download from here.”

3D printed with a completely analog mechanism. Do I have to tell you how much I love this?

Send in your projects

I’d like to regularly spotlight a reader project or two here. Your project doesn’t have to be a big Kickstarter launch. If you’ve built something cool, it has some pretty pictures, and you’re proud of it, I might be able to share it here.

If you have a photogenic reader project, send an email to me at david@zatz.com with the subject “READER PROJECT,” a few pictures, and a short one-paragraph description. If you have a social media link or a link to the project, include that, too.